AUBURN — On the back of Shon Collins’ coaching board were five keys to the Red Hornets’ game against Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete.
The final bullet point read, “Shoot!!!”
The Red Hornets followed their coach’s instructions and peppered Capers goaltender Lily Jordan with 27 shots. Four found the back of the net as the Red Hornets extended their winning streak to three games and their unbeaten streak to four in a 4-0 victory over Cape-Flete on Monday at Norway Savings Bank Arena.
“We were pulling the trigger quite a bit,” Collins said. “In general, we’ve been outshot a lot in games this year. We’re trying to get the message out that we have good shooters and you’re not going to score if you don’t shoot.”
Kylie Bureau scored the home team’s initial two goals. Her first came on a pass from the sideboards from Grace McBride. The pass deflected off Bureau’s skate, hit the post and came back to her stick. Bureau slid a shot past Jordan to put the Red Hornets on the board.
Her second came with three minutes left in the second period when she redirected a Danica Nadeau shot from the point over Jordan’s stick-side shoulder.
“I knew Danica was probably going to shoot it, so I just stayed in front of the goalie and put my stick in the air,” Bureau said. “You can’t really tell exactly where it’s going to go, so you have to take a chance.”
Unlike a recent contest against Greely, the Red Hornets (13-2-1) made their 2-0 lead stick. They scored less than a minute into the third period when Angel Drouin found a streaking Madison Derosa in front of the net.
Derosa’s goal was a back-breaker for the Capers (7-8).
“We had talked about at least getting the next goal,” Capers coach Bob Mills said. “A 2-1 game is a lot different than 3-0, so that was a little hard on everyone.”
Grace McBride, who was originally credited with the Red Hornets’ first goal before it was changed to Bureau, added Leavitt/EL/Poland’s fourth goal with 1:06 left on a shot from the slot. McBride’s shot deflected up and over Jordan before crossing the goal line.
“We’re starting to find our groove,” Collins said. “We’ve changed the lines a little bit. The biggest thing I’d speak to is the shift in mentality in the locker room. We’ve tried to simplify things and we’ve raised expectations for them and they’ve responded.”
The Red Hornets outshot the Capers in all three periods and finished with a 27-13 edge. Red Hornets goaltender Tori Sanford stopped all 13 shots she faced for the team’s sixth shutout of the season.
“I think we’re really coming together as a team,” Sanford said. “We’ve had our ups and downs this year, but today’s really that building point. This was a team we’ve faced before and didn’t have as much success (as today). We still beat them, but it wasn’t anything like today.”
Jordan recorded 23 saves for the Capers.
The Red Hornets have two games remaining before the playoffs, hosting St. Dominic Academy and Brunswick.
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